This past weekend I was grateful. Grateful for many things...to get out and about...to have some good food...to see my sister and niece and spend time with them and my parents...for the temperatures jumping over 70 degrees yesterday...and much more! Here is a recap of the weekend...
Friday after work - DH, BIL, and I went for dinner at a local place called Legends. Honestly, it's been MANY years since I have been to this restaurant. It's quite the sight to see, tho, as there are collectables everywhere. Many items from the 50s, 60s, 70s eras. Oldies music plays on the speakers as well.
Pre-COVID they used to have salad bars inside these converted trunks and such but that - of course - has halted and I'm totally ok with that. They have taken many steps to make things safer for those who stop by and I appreciate that.
For part of the restaurant they converted an old caboose to another seating area. They have every inch of the place decked out with LOTS of decor.
This guy was standing behind me while we ate. It was funny but a little creepy. I still appreciated it, tho.
They had a vegetarian menu but I had to get a little creative with the vegan part. They did accommodate. I was thrilled! They had a creative salad of roasted veggies on top of fresh lettuce. There was so much going on here. Olives, Spinach, Mushrooms, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Zuchini, Fries, Onions, Peppers, Tomatoes, Cuccumbers, and more.
Speaking of vegan tweaks...there was another local place that worked with me for a quick lunch last week. Seasoned fries loaded with spinach, onions, peppers, mushrooms. They were a tad salty for comfort level but I still ate them.
Saturday I went over to my parents house - no tonly to do laundry but to also visit with them. It was a long week at work and I really wanted to get out of the house this past weekend. My father made me some more tiny shelves for my rocks and crystals. Here's a photo of one of them.
For lunch on Saturday - while with my parents - I made this. It started out as a stir fry but it was then placed on top of rice. I combined some Liquid Aminos I had on hand at my parents house along with some vegan margarine. My parents have started using that instead of regular butter. I then added Broccoli, Carrots, Onion, Peppers, Tomatoes, to it and cooked down and then placed over rice. It was pretty good and didn't take long to make at all.
Here's another look at it. I also did a quick reel for IG and it has over 1,500 views already. I'm still very new to reels and am trying to incorporate more into my postings.
Saturday Night we did a potluck with some of the people we spend a lot of time with over the summer. We had the potluck in a large building for our somewhat small group of about 20-ish and were still able to be socially distant, too. My parents brought pasta salad and I made this Broccoli Salad.
I think it was a hit! It's made with Broccoli, Tomatoes, and Dried Cranberries. I also pan fried some chickpeas and seasoned them with Garlic Powder, Smoked Paprika, and Oil. After the Chickpeas were nicely pan fried - I added some chopped up Walnuts and Sunflower Seeds and toasted them in the same pan for a bit. I added everything to a large bowl and stirred in a Tahini Sauce I made until everything was combined. The Tahini Sauce consisted of: Tahini, Lemon Juice, Water, Maple Syrup, Dijon Mustard, Onion & Garlic Powder, Sea Salt, Vegan Sugar (I used Florida Crystals).
Oh! Also on Saturday - before we went to the Potluck Dinner - Dad and I went over to our local Crary Art Gallery for the last weekend of this art show.
I enjoyed the exhibit. Dad did, too. We are trying to get to each one - now that I know he's interested. Usually - I would go by myself. It's nice that we are able to go together. The next one is in Mid-April. We were the only ones there other than the person who greeted us.
I usually do not take photos of the art unless I am told that I can, specifically, and I think that has only beed once or twice.
Yesterday was a lovely day. We had some pretty high winds but the temperatures jumped over 70 degrees! YAY! Today, however, they are back down to the 30s and heavy rain and flooding. We enjoyed it while we could. My parents, sister, niece, and I went for a walk around their neighborhood, and played soccer.
I'm pretty sure we were all tuckered-out at the end of the day! Even my niece! She was running all over the place and LOVED it.
We even did some Chalk Art on my parents driveway. My niece is already able to print her name and spell some things.
My mom drew a rainbow. And there were bubbles! My niece LOVES bubbles!
I opted for the PEACE Sign. I was hoping for the colors of Ukraine but these were the colors we had on hand.
It was a nice weekend and I'm looking forward to many more.
